Worst Second Date Ever
by patricia51
Summary: Rosita Bustillos is a biochemist, a bartender, a firm friend and a good person. She's also a Revenant. How? It all goes back to one day in the Old West and follows her journey to the present.
1. Chapter 1

Worst Second Date Ever by patricia51

(Rosita Bustillos is a biochemist, a bartender, a firm friend and a good person. She's also a Revenant. How? Maybe it all goes back to one day in the Old West.)

(Shorty's Bar)

"Screw space," I glared at my friend the annoyingly sweet Waverly Earp who wears a look of astonishment on her face. "You need to get up in her face and make things right."

She looks uncertain but I know that's exactly what she wants to do. "Do you think she's up?"

"She'll open the door for you. No matter what time."

I smiled as Waverly tore out of the bar, heading for Nicole's place. She left the rest of her drink on the counter I see. Probably a good thing. It's awful early in the morning to be drinking, even Sour Mash Whiskey as smooth as this is. Well, waste not, want not I always say. I scoop up the tumbler and let the amber fluid trickle down my throat.

Then I wash the glasses. I make a note. Waverly owes for the drinks we had starting yesterday through our trip to the spa. I'll mark this one, these two rather, as on the house.

I hope she can fix things with Nicole. I like her, like them both. I think they are good for each other. Yes they make mistakes but doesn't everyone? Nicole shouldn't have opened the DNA test and kept it from Waverly. But Waves shouldn't have sent that nasty text to Nicole. I wanted her to show some backbone but that was more than a little too much. And heavens above she had no business kissing me. Of course that goes both ways too. I had no business kissing her back. Thank goodness we came to our senses. Nicole doesn't deserve that and neither does Doc.

Doc, Doc, Doc. What am I going to do about that? He may call me his lover and Wynonna his friend but I know better. But he didn't make me any promises when he recruited me to work for him to duplicate Doll's serum except that he promised to protect me. Unspoken but implied was that he would be protecting me from Wynonna. After all, she does have a tendency to shoot Revenants on sight. Not that she can hardly be blamed for that but I don't want to find myself back in Hell before I can explain I'm not evil.

I wipe down the bar. No one here. Well it is early. I could just pull the cash drawer, put the bell on the counter and head back into the basement. I would like very much to see if I could determine who has been into my lab stuff.

But I stay here. I wipe the bar again. I could inventory the liquor. I could wash all the glasses. Again. Instead I just wipe once more and let my mind wander. That's a mistake for it wanders back to the 19th Century and the day that changed my life. Changed it? Ended it and started something else completely.

(1897: Yuma, Arizona)

It was dry, duty and hot that day. I was being stupid. Muy Estubida! Only once since then have I been that brain dead. My boyfriend Rick and I had been arguing a lot lately so we decided to spend some time apart and calm down. Deep breaths and all that and clear our heads. I can't remember now what we were even fighting about. That would be funny if it wasn't so sad. That's why I told Waverly to go talk to Nicole. You don't solve your problems with your other half by staying apart.

I had finished work early that day. I was lucky. I had a good job, a respectable job. I was an assistant to one of the town's apothecaries. The leading one in fact and he was teaching me along with two male assistants how to compound medicines. It was exciting and made me feel good that I was able to help people. Plus it paid better than being a waitress and I didn't have to stand on my feet all day long like the dance hall girls. Or assume other positions.

I was sure that Rick would not be jealous of my spending time with Dan. I think Rick trusted him to keep an eye on me rather than his hands. And I wasn't interested in Dan. He was Rick's best friend for goodness sake. It was only the second time we had been out together

Okay he did have what many years later would be called that "bad-boy image". Of course instead of a motorcycle and a leather jacket he wore a black Stetson and carried a Colt .45 in a tied down holster. But I figured that was just showing off. Maybe if I had known that Wyatt Earp had never given up the hunt for anyone involved in the shooting of his brothers and that Dan's mother's maiden name was Clanton I might have come to my senses in time. But I doubt it.

It happened so fast that I barely had time to be terrified. One moment we were crossing the street to the cafe for supper with me on his arm. The next he was spinning around to face the man who went with the cold, hard voice that had just called his name. Incidentally that move slung me behind him. I couldn't see very well since I was looking into the sun so I lifted one hand to try to shade my eyes.

Dan's hand moved like a snake as he drew his pistol. I was no expert but I couldn't believe a man could draw so fast. Then his gun fired and I saw the dust spurt at his feet where the bullet struck. He staggered and I realized the other man had shot first. Dan tried to level his gun and staggered again as he was hit once more.

Maybe there were more shots. I don't know. For the moment the second bullet hit Dan I felt a blow to my mid-section and I found myself starring up at the sky. Why was I doing that? And why couldn't I get up? Or move?

I heard feet running to me. I blinked. A tall man with a black hat and a big mustache was looking down at me with compassion and perhaps guilt inn his eyes. He called for a doctor.

Doc Miller is there quickly. He falls to his knees beside me and starts probing. It hurts.

"What happened Wyatt?"

Wyatt? That man is Wyatt Earp. Wow. I'd like to say something but it really is hurting now. All I can do is moan. I see Wyatt turn and study something else. I'm guessing it's Dan. He points.

"There. One of my bullets must have gone all the way through him and hit her." He turns his attention back to the doc.

"Can you help her?" Doc Miller shook his head. "The bullet must have deformed passing through him. It's torn her wide open and I can feel her spine is shattered."

It hurts again and I cry out. Doc looks closer. "Rosita isn't it? Rosita Bustillos?" Without waiting for an answer he looks around. "You," he points to someone. "Run down to the old mission and bring back one of the priests. Hurry!"

Now the pain seems to be subsiding. Does that mean I'm getting better? It's getting dark. I didn't realize that it was so late. I need to go get home. My Mama will be worried.

I don't know if the priest is here. The only voice I can hear is that of Wyatt Earp, repeating the same words over and over.

"I'm so sorry Rosita. I'm so sorry."

Now everything is all black and the voice fades away until it's all silence. But it won't stay that will it? Then things change and I want the darkness and the silence back as I hear the screams all around me for an instant before I join in.

(To be continued)

(Notes: I picked 1897 for Rosie's death as it was the last time that Wyatt Earp was in Arizona. He did visit Texas once more but most of his remaining years were spent in California or up North. And being an aspiring Apothecary was possible for a woman; the first licensed and registered woman in that field was certified in 1865 in Britain. It would also explain where Rosie's interest in chemistry and other sciences first came from.)


	2. Chapter 2

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 2 by patricia51

(1929: Yuma Arizona)

I sit upright with a jerk, gasping for breath. That makes sense; after all I was just screaming. I manage to shut up because all of a sudden the pain is gone. There's no fire; there's no torment.

My mind is so confused I barely understand what has happened. It sinks in. I'm not there anymore. I don't know what changed, what happened but I'm not in Hell anymore. I look around. This place looks familiar and yet strange at the same time. I'm back in Yuma.

I stagger to my feet and look at myself. Same clothes I was wearing before. At least the bloodstains are gone as are the tears that Doc Miller made trying to save me. I look around again. No one is here although I can see figures in the distance, among those strange new tall buildings and all the other stuff I don't recognize.

Pretty sure I'm back in Yuma. The sun is up but I'm not roasting so it's not summer. In fact I suspect it's late fall or even winter. It just has that feel. But compared to where I've just come from it's paradise.

There's a park nearby. I make my way there and sit down on a handy bench. A fountain splashes nearby and when the breeze is just right I can feel the water. It's wonderful. I sigh and begin to take stock.

I'm alive. I wasn't before. I was dead. I died after being shot by Wyatt Earp, accidentally, during a gunfight with my boyfriend's best friend. And after I died I went to Hell. I went straight to Hell; no judgment, no review of my life, no "Rosie you screwed it up". I don't think I DID screw up, other than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm wasn't the innocent little Catholic girl in her white dress making her First Communion true but I don't think I had strayed that far. Wasn't I supposed to get a hearing or something? It doesn't seem fair.

On the same bench I'm sitting on someone has left a newspaper. I look it over and I know my eyes widen. It's 1929. January the 13th to be precise. 31 years have gone by.

I ponder. Why 31 years? Why am I back here anyway? Not that I'm complaining mind you. But is this temporary? Could I be cast back into Hell at any moment? And for the first time since 1897 my stomach is rumbling. I'm hungry. I check my purse, amazingly still with me. I have some money.

I stand and start to leave. On an impulse I turn back and pick up the paper. I need to know how the world has changed over the last 30 odd years and reading this might give me some clues.

A few hours later I know a lot more than I did but it only serves to let me know just how much more I do have to learn. And how much I need some things to sink in so I can grasp them. For starters, eating is a lot more expensive. I remember when meals like I just ate were a quarter. Now they're nearly a darned dollar.

I've read the newspaper practically front page to end page. It's folded now at the "Help Wanted" ads. I need a job. Coming back from the dead doesn't pay any bills or put food on the table. Or provide a table to put food on in fact.

I'm alone in the world. A discreet check of my old neighborhood, now almost unrecognizable with paved streets and street lights and most of the buildings I once knew torn down let me know that my family had long ago scattered to the winds. A search of the newspaper's morgue leads me to my mother's obituary and the cemetery where she is buried. There are things to finish first so it's nearly dark before I locate her grave and kneel beside it.

"I'm sorry Mama," I tell her. "I didn't want to leave you. I don't know why I came back. I don't know why I spent those years where I did. But I AM back and I've found a job and a place to live." A lump in my throat gets in the way for a moment. "I promised you once I was going to make something of myself. I'm going to keep that promise." I cross myself and begin to pray. That's alright isn't it? I was in Hell but my prayers for her still count don't they?

When I finish I get up and brush off my knees. Work starts early tomorrow so I need to get some sleep. First day of the rest of my life and all that. Maybe the bad times are behind me now.

(Present)

Doc is up and about so I head downstairs. Who has been messing with my stuff? Dolls? Jeremy? Someone else? They've been in my journal and it looks like its been opened to the formula notes so I'm pretty sure I know who. I feel a little hurt. Why didn't they just ask? I don't like that. I head voices from upstairs and I don't like that either. Not that I object to customers I mean but I know who that is and I don't want him here.

Up the stairs and glare at Doc's poker antagonist. "You're not supposed to be here Stevie." I switch my attention to Doc and look in his eyes without a word before going back downstairs. I hope he got the message. Both messages in fact. I don't want too many Revenants hanging around here. It draws Wynonna's attention and makes her think Revenant. I don't want that association coming up in here. I know Doc will protect me but better not to push things.

I also am trying to let him know that perhaps Stevie or some of his Revenant buddies are a little too interested in what's going on down here. They may be the ones sneaking in here. I realize that Doc caught my meaning as he offers to high card Stevie and the wager he suggests. Stevie DOES seem interested in what's down here. Too interested.

But we don't get an answer. The door bangs and I hear Stevie scream "The Heir!" Then the back door is slamming and we'll have to wait for another day for an answer.

I can't catch exactly what Wynonna says at first but I can tell she's excited. Really, REALLY excited. So is Doc. I all but run up the stairs to find out what's happening. Nicole is in the hospital? Bitten by one of the Widows? She's poisoned and she's dying? No, no, no, NO. That can't happen. Nicole is my friend and she's in love with Waverly who is even more of my friend. And I owe Nicole big time for kissing Waverly back when she got lost for a moment. Granted I clobbered Tucker but that was almost just as much for fun as much as saving Waverly. Okay not really but I did get a lot of satisfaction from smacking that creepy little shit.

Just as I reach the top of the stairs a completely random thought strikes me. What if my mysterious intruder is simply someone who thinks we're cooking illegal drugs? I mean we are but not like that. Someone may think we have a Meth lab down there. I almost thought that when Doc first tried to recruit me before he explained just what we would be cooking up. A challenge like that is why I took the position. Okay that and the protection.

Doc is flying upstairs to get his arsenal and coat. I make coffee quickly as Wynonna sits at the bar and shakes her head when I point at the machine and raise an eyebrow in question. As soon as it's done I put a top on the Styrofoam cup and set it in front of her.

"Black and chunky. Just like he likes it," I smile.

She doesn't smile back. Instead she puts Peacemaker on the bar. And the barrel is glowing and the muzzle is pointed at me.

"There it is."

She knows. Oh shit.

(Virginia City Nevada, 1938)

"Oh SHIT!"

I duck around the corner of a handy building as a bullet chips a large piece of several corner bricks and goes whining off into the distance.

"Damn you come back here!"

Come back? Yeah sure. A big man who suddenly stepped out in from of me and growled "Now I've got you Revenant". And he has this big-assed gun and the damn thing is glowing and he's pointing it at me. I'm going to turn around in head back towards him? I'm trying my best to imitate Jesse Owens, the runner from the last Olympics and set a world record myself.

Well now I know that the bad times certainly aren't behind me.

(To be continued)

(Of course January 13, 1929 is the date that Wyatt Earp died. In real life he had no children but we in the Wynonna Earp Universe know better.)  



	3. Chapter 3

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 3 by patricia51

(Virginia City Montana, 1938)

Something had been drawing me north ever since I came back to life. Not that I missed Yuma that much. Too hot and too dry and besides the memories weren't the greatest particularly with my family gone. Then again, I would have had a hard time explaining why I was alive when they had buried me beside my mother. So after I had accumulated some savings I moved on.

There had been some rough times. Of course that's a part of life but the Depression had hit the entire country hard. So I wasn't the only person on the road nor was I the only one poking through a city whose population was slowly drifting away, hoping to make some sort of find. The main difference between me and those others, the hopeful and the desperate alike, was that I had actually made a find.

Most if not all of the other would-be explorers concentrated on the abandoned mines. The few that were operational were all owned by big companies who provided jobs to well-built, well-armed guards who seriously discouraged unauthorized visitors. I on the other hand concentrated on abandoned buildings, particularly ones that showed signs of once being prosperous.

There were quite a lot of them. The center of the city had burned spectacularly in October of 1875, nearly reaching into the Ophir and the Consolidated Virginia main shafts, the major mines still running strong then. But the city had rebuilt, including the brick buildings that had gone "down like paper boxes" in the flames. I had done some historical research in Reno before coming here and had identified several possible sites that had been banks or mining companies before the fire that had rebuilt elsewhere. In one of those I had discovered the original basement and a safe. It was hard getting into it quietly but the resulting find of gold coins was worth it.

That didn't solve all my financial problems though. I had gold but I couldn't spend it. Owning gold was illegal. I could do something with the silver coins I had found. There were also some not too badly charred Silver Certificates. Maybe I should just keeping moving north till until I got to Canada. I was pretty sure gold was legal there. And that call kept nagging at the back of my mind.

Or I could find some place and bury the gold and come back for it some day. After all it looked like I was going to be around for a while. I had learned some things and experienced others.

First off I wasn't getting any older. I didn't look a day older than I did nine years ago when I woke up to find I wasn't in Hell anymore. Second a robbery attempt and a sexual assault had showed that I was hard to kill. Very hard indeed. Both times I should have been dead but after a brief recovery period I wasn't. I can't say the same for either of my attackers. I watched them. They didn't get back up.

It did bother me. I'm not a killer. But one shot me while trying to rob me and the other tried to rape me and strangle me so it didn't bother me THAT much. I got over it but if it never happens again that will be fine with me. If it does, well, I'll deal with it then.

So that made me a way too over-confident when I was heading to an eatery one afternoon only to have people running past me looking over their shoulders. I immediately saw this man who vaguely reminded me of someone I couldn't put my finger on. He was brandishing a very long barreled pistol that rang a bell as well. But it didn't worry me. He wasn't shooting and if he did and hit me so what? Then he DID point his pistol at me. The end lit up. That hadn't happened when he had pointed it at others in his path. I got a very bad feeling about it.

My feelings weren't improved when his eyes grew wide and satisfied. I heard him yell "There you are!". He fired. But by then I was already running like hell because I had a sneaky feeling that was where I was going to end up if he shot me.

Maybe it was his hat, maybe it was his boots that slowed him down. Whatever it was I zigzagged away from him like he was standing still. He may have been. I didn't look back much. I lost him but wasn't willing to bet he'd stay lost. I picked up my cache and caught a ride going north as soon as possible.

While riding I thought about it. I realized why he and his pistol looked familiar. He looked like Wyatt Earp, whom I last saw standing over me with that same long barreled gun. It wasn't glowing then though.

Hadn't I read that Wyatt had died? Three towns later when I took a break from running I looked it up at the local library. He had indeed died. A chill settled on me when I saw the date. January 13, 1929. The day I came back to life. Oh my. I read more. There was a fairly recent picture of a man who was Wyatt's son. That was the guy trying to put holes in me with a glowing gun. Apparently the family is after me now. Damn.

And what the hell is a "Revenant"?

(Present)

Some things never change I guess. Here I was with another Earp who, if she wasn't pointing Peacemaker directly at me was pretty damn close. And I couldn't help it. I know my face went all Revenant on her in spite of my attempt to control it. Good going Rosita, make sure she thinks you're the standard Revenant.

Who could have told on me? I speculate and decide it must have been Dolls. Doc wouldn't tell on me. I don't even realize I'm saying it out loud at first. Then I'm completely floored at her one word reply.

"Waverly."

No. That's got to be wrong. Not Waverly. She told me she wouldn't tell. But looking into Wynonna's eyes I see that she's telling the truth. I grope for something to say.

"Did she happen to mention I saved her from Tucker?"

Damn. Double damn. That came out like I was pleading. Even if I WAS trying to make Wynonna feel some sympathy for me I didn't mean to sound like I was begging. I saved her from Tucker because I already didn't like the little shit, no woman should be treated like a piece of property which is how he obviously thought of her and finally Waverly is the best friend I have dreamed about. Even now I can't get mad at her.

Wynonna is saying something about how it must have slipped her mind with her "watching the love of her life dying la painful death". I'm not ignoring her but my heart is breaking for Waverly. I think of her. How I thought Doc was crazy suggesting I get close to the Earp sisters. How much fun it turned out to be. How much I thought that Waverly and Nicole were made for each other and how it hurt to see them fight.

I wanted Waverly to get back with Nicole. I suggested that spa excursion because I hoped it would let her relax and let go of some of that negative energy she was piling up. I was flattered when she was awed by my PhD s. We shouldn't have kissed but it was nothing more than a slip, she was looking for reassurance and comfort and maybe I was too for a moment after seeing Doc saunter off to Wynonna's for dinner.

All of those memories and more take no more than seconds to relive. Wynonna seems to be waiting for me to say something so I do.

"I heard. If there's anything I can do."

Good Lord. Could I sound any less convincing? But I really would do anything to help Nicole. And Waverly.

Then Doc comes down the stairs and Wynonna and both pretend everything is all right.

(To be continued)

(Note" Funny how things drop in your lap sometime. I was watching a series of fan made show intros in the style of other programs such as Charmed, Buffy, Supernatural and others. In one of them Wynonna discovered Waverly's research board and I froze the scene in a couple of places. I saw a Post-It with "Edwin Earp 1940-1968". Since Wyatt died in 1929 Edwin would have to be his grandson. Another note had "Ward Earp 1966-2000) making him Edwin's son. So Wynonna is Wyatt's great-great granddaughter (I've seen her listed as one great and two great) and all we are missing in the Earp family tree is Wyatt's son's name. Anyone have a clue?) 


	4. Chapter 4

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 4 by patricia51

(Hamilton, Ontario 2005)

You live, so to speak, and you learn. You learn that after you've spent an inordinate amount of time getting a doctorate in Engineering that there really aren't any positions you're qualified for. You need experience. And to get experience you need a job and to get a job you need experience. Oh well, my interest in that has faded. But I did have a good time going through college the first time.

It certainly was better than running from the Earp s. I had looked up "Revenant". The definition was "Someone who returns from a long journey or the dead". That fit. I just didn't understand why it made me a target until I had run into this guy Earl back in 1967. Or maybe it was 1968.

Apparently he knew the entire story; the demon sheriff Clootie who cursed Wyatt and Peacemaker as well as everyone shot by him. For an instant I feel relieved. It wasn't anything I did that sent me to Hell. Then I got mad. It wasn't anything I did that sent me to Hell. Talk about unfair. Damn. Oops. Not really a word I want to be using right now.

He explained that the curse could only be broken by all the Revenants being shot with Wyatt's gun by the current Heir. The Heir didn't become that until he, or possibly she, turned 27. I said that gave a pretty good chance for us because after all, all those Revenants scattered around would make it hard for him to catch up to us.

"Nope," he said gloomily. "Have you ever felt drawn North?"

When I said I had he told me about the Ghost River Triangle and how sooner or later we would all be pulled in there. And even more important would not be able to leave.

I was hoping for more but as I was besieging him with questions his eyes suddenly opened wide as something burst through his chest. Fortunately this time I was not in direct line between him and the bullet that pierced his heart.

I should have screamed. I should have run. Instead all I could do was stand there in horror. I remembered Hell. Now I got to see someone consumed by it. Flames surrounded Earl, flames consumed him and finally flames pulled him down into the burning earth until there was nothing left but the echoes of his screams.

The only thing that saved me was the man with the gun seemed as shocked as I was. He lowered the long barreled revolver and stared at the spot where Earl had vanished. If fear had frozen me it also turned me loose. I was able to quietly and quickly slip away. Once again, as soon as I had turned a single corner I began to run. I had to hide. I did and then I ran some more. Running and hiding. This was getting old. I carefully and cautiously made my way here to Hamilton

Maybe it does make me a bad person when I found out that Ethan Earp died that same year. He had been relentless in hunting Revenants but only lived one year after he became Heir. I don't know what or who killed him but for a while at least until his son Ward grew up I was safe. And Ward turned out to only stay inside the Triangle. That was fine with me. I was enjoying myself too much once again as a simple college coed; starting over as an undergraduate and fascinated by what would turn out to be my second doctorate. I was never ever going to the Ghost River. Famous last words.

(Present)

Quickly Wynonna slides Peacemaker off the bar and out of sight. I turn to face Doc and busy myself with glasses and such. We're trying to pretend that everything is normal. We don't fool Doc for an instant.

He doesn't say much. Instead he doffs his hat, pulls me into his arms and kisses me. Kisses me quite thoroughly. I enjoy it immensely and kiss him back. He lets go, puts his hat back on, grabs the coffee I made him off the bar and takes the truck keys Wynonna offers him. He heads out the door.

I feel safe and warm for a moment. But that's why he kissed me. Not that don't spend a pretty fair amount of time kissing, especially upstairs in the room and bed we share together. But this one is special. He's marking his territory in a way, telling Wynonna that I belong to him and therefore am under his protection.

That's the way he got me to come to work for him. Okay I was not exactly living the dream. I was working at one of Purgatory's less reputable clubs. As a bartender damn it. I don't dance, on stage or off. I REALLY don't dance. It is not one of my gifts. Headless chickens have been complimented as having more coordinated moves than me. And as for the oldest profession. Nope, Nyet, Nada, Nein, not now not ever. I don't condemn those who do, almost always it's not their choice but it's not for me. I'd say I'd starve first but since that won't kill me it's a rather empty promise.

Doc had already approached me about coming to work for him. I knew he had recently acquired Shorty's but I also knew his primary interest had to do with my doctorate in biochemistry, not my bartending skills, although that did seem to be a secondary consideration. I didn't want to cook Meth. I can just see my being put in jail, convinced and sent to prison. As soon as the prison wagon passes outside the Triangle fire and brimstone here I come again.

I was taking the trash out to the dumpster after closing when I felt someone watching me from the shadows. Turned out to be Doc making one last effort to recruit me. I was just in a rotten enough mood that I turned him down again and wasn't particularly nice about it. Then he asked me for a pen.

"My final offer," he told me as he wrote on my hand. "Something you do need." Then he answered his phone and spoke top Waverly Earp as he left. I looked at my hand.

"Protection," he had printed there.

That I did need. I was tired of running and hiding. Not just from the Heir but from myself. So after tossing and turning all night long I went to see him.

There were things that I didn't tell him then. I actually was intrigued by the hints he had dropped about needing to reverse engineer some extremely complex formula. It sounded like a challenge to my skills and goodness knows I wanted something like that. My mind was set a little at ease when he told me it was not for the "big gun", i.e. Wynonna Earp. But I was familiar with how close he was with her and wondered if my getting that near her that often would be wise. But he HAD promised to protect me and the biggest danger was her. So I went to Shorty's.

Good golly what a mess. I knew that Bobo and his crew had trashed the place since he had bought it from Gus and that Doc and Agent Dolls had conducted a shootout with an entire room filled with Revenants but this was going to take a lot of work. But I could do it and told him that. Then we had a discussion about the quality of the liquor to be served because the bourbon Doc offered me was fit for no more than removing old paint at best. Then I wanted to see the real set-up, the real reason he hired.

"I can get you anything but time," he told me in response to my demands for things like a dedicated generator and more ventilation. We restored the bar and worked together to discover and then reproduce the serum for Dolls. I admit it surprised me at first; all Doc was going through to save him. I guess Dolls was, is, the closest thing he's had to a friend since Wyatt and that didn't end well.

And we grew closer. When a by-pass valve popped and Doc nearly burned his hand trying to shut it off we had our first moment when I examined his hand and looked at his life line. It passed and we didn't kiss but it was then that we both started to build towards what we have now. Whatever that is. Sometimes I swear I don't know. I know he cares deeply for Wynonna and loves Waverly (who doesn't though? Including me.) but he has feelings for me above and beyond the usual one a man has for a woman he's having sex with. He even suggested I make close friends with the Earp sisters so that if something happens to him I will still have some protection. Not that I don't think that's just been blown out of the water for Wynonna at least.

Protection. Somehow I feel stronger than I did just moments ago. I turn back to face Wynonna again. And she has a deal for me. They need someone to test possible anti-venoms on. Someone who won't die from them. Like a Revenant. Me.

(To be continued)

(The setting in Ontario is because it's the home of McMaster University, an excellent place for Rosie to get her biochemistry PhD.)


	5. Chapter 5

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 5 by patricia51

(Interlude)

Oh. Ouch. Damn. Damn I hurt all over. Especially my chest. I hurt like someone shot me full of holes, fortunately without Peacemaker. So I'm not dead. I just hurt a lot. Which means that whatever the hell it is that seems to be fading from my mind even as I try to grasp it was real? Real in some strange sort of way I guess.

It wasn't a dream, even though it seems like it was. I've been shot in my dreams before, usually by Peacemaker and it didn't still feel like that whenever I woke up. After all, plain ordinary bullets can't kill me. For long anyway. I might seem dead but it's not permanent. The advantage of being a Revenant I suppose. Well there should be some advantages considering the consequences.

I search my mind. It's foggy; reminds me of being an undergraduate in college. Both times. Hey one can't just study all the time even if the aim is to get a doctorate. Both times. A little hangover ever now and then is a small price to pay for an evening, or weekend, of relaxation. Or to forget certain things. But now I want to remember.

Rather than any coherent chain of events everything comes to me in bits and pieces, like scenes from a movie that the different reels of aren't being shown in the proper order. I try to put them in order.

Okay. I was working for Black Badge. Deputy Marshal Dolls had recruited me to try to infiltrate the infamous "Holliday Haus". Doc Holliday and his gang of Revenants were running wild. Bombings, murders and drugs and no possible way in sight to stop them. Hell to even slow them down. The other Revenants had flocked there and the combined efforts of Black Badge and the Purgatory Sheriff's Department couldn't make a dent in the place. In fact Black Badge had cut us loose. Apparently they didn't like losing battles. And Sheriff Haught and her handful of deputies had everything they could handle with the everyday crimes and troubles.

So I went in and promptly ended up shackled in the barn and forced to produce drugs. I don't know if any were actually sold or they kept them all for their own use. I was out of touch with Dolls and apparently condemned to do this forever.

Then one day he showed up. Good old asshole Doc Holliday himself. I told him I needed a new poster of him, that I had shot away the face on the one in here. Again. (As a side note I wonder why he let me keep that piece of crap pistol and do that. Maybe it amused him. Maybe he figured he could outdraw me even if I was aiming at him. Probably right.)

But today he seems different. Completely different, as though some other version of him is under that hat and mustache. And he's confused too. Babbling something about someone named Wynonna and a baby. Who's Wynonna? I don't think too much about that because he puts his hand on my arm. I slap the crap out of him and remind him what I threatened to do to his whole crew if he touched me. Poison wouldn't kill them but it would make them miserable as shit.

It's strange. Again. I could swear that he looked astonished when I slapped him. More than that, for an instant I thought I saw something on his face I never would have believed. Hurt. Then he's looking at my shackles like he had never seen them before.

"Did I do that?"

All I can manage to say is "Yes".

He produces a key an opens the lock. Then he asks a couple of strange questions. Do I know a Waverly Earp? Do I know Marshall Dolls? I know a Waverly Gibson and I tell him Deputy Marshal Dolls will be happy to shoot him on sight. I swear Doc grins for a moment.

"Some things never change. I have to speak with him as soon as possible."

I make some half-witty remark about him taking back-up and slip out the door. I have to be very careful. Doc releasing me or not, more than half of these nut jobs would like nothing better than to tie me down and gang rape me while the other half would set up a howl at the source of their drugs slipping away. It takes a while, it takes hours, but I finally clear the Haus and start for town. That's a long walk by the way. No traffic. It's not like anyone generally comes out here voluntarily.

Finally in town I make my way to Black Badge. And it's a disaster. Equipment strewn everywhere and some sort of armor glass cage or case shattered and the parts scattered all over the place. No Dolls. No Jeremy. Fortunately I can unlock the gun safe and arm myself. Then I go hunting.

I find Jeremy and we have a little discussion about the propriety of pointing guns at girls. Especially me. Then we talked.

Oh God. Dolls is dead. So is Doc I find out. In fact the whole thing was one of those mutual assured destruction things that were so popular a few decades ago during the Cold War. Jeremy tells me that strangely Dolls, rather than happy that he had finally got Doc, seemed saddened and said something like he felt like he had killed a friend. Well I don t feel that way. I don't. I hated him. Doc that is. So why do I feel a sense of loss? Why is there a little ache in my heart? Doesn't make sense. But then this whole thing doesn't make sense.

Jeremy has a theory. He thinks that Black Badge, not content by merely cutting us loose, is behind the entire thing. Whatever that thing might be. I'm so confused right now that all this talk of stuff in the water supply and holographic projectors almost makes sense. Well I can't think of anything else. Also I have had prior personal experience with Government agencies looking out for themselves first and the people they're supposed to serve never. So when he proposes that we destroy the barn I go along with that. At least it would get rid of the drug lab.

We raid the office for explosives and I sneak both of us back on to the grounds of Holliday Haus. There is already a huge fight going on. Bobo Del Ray is back. Crap. The Revenants seem split between transferring their loyalty to him and sticking with Doc. I assume the latter don't know he's dead. Well I ain't telling them. We rig the barn and we're about to go when the door bursts open for a moment.

I cover the two new figures for a moment. I recognize them. One is Sheriff Haught and the other is that Waverly Gibson girl that Doc was asking about. What the heck is going on with her? She looks like a 60's flower child. I haven't seen anything like that since Woodstock.

Just in case they're Black Badge operatives I keep them covered. They're here, according to Gibson's hurried explanations, looking for the Hockey Trophy. What it has to do with our current situation, the growing number of Revenants beating on the door, I can't imagine but there's something about how it could fix everything. Well I'm willing. Most anything could be better than this.

I tell flower child where the trophy is. After all, I've had to look at it for months. She rushes to it and the other three of us go to the door. It looks bad. Really Bad. And Black Badge is probably monitoring us and getting ready to erase us from the face of the Earth. I understand that's what they do with failed operations. Bury everyone. Jeremy is babbling about Tomahawk missiles but I can't do anything about that. Maybe hold back the bad guys till the other three get out. After all, no matter what happens I should be able to get back up eventually. They re all three human so they won't.

I wrench open the door and spring out shooting. Muy Estupida Rosita. I don't get but a few shots off before a full bore volley from every Revenant with a gun knocks me sprawling and profusely bleeding. I lay there, fading in and out of consciousness. Then there is a tremendous explosion and I black out completely.

(Shorty s)

What the hell? I jerk upright, nearly knocking over a stack of glasses on the bar. What just happened? The strange memories fill my mind, full of things that didn't happen and yet that I recall. I look around. Where is everyone?

(To be continued)

(Dolls wakes up in a body bad, Wynonna in an open field. Waverly, Nicole and Jeremy are still in the barn, although with a collection of soot and bed head like I've never seen. Where's Rosie? She's not where she was shot right outside the barn or they would have found here. So I decided Shorty's made as much sense as anything else since the next time we see her she's coming up from the basement.)


	6. Chapter 6

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 6 by patricia51

(Shorty's. Present)

Sometimes it seems like wiping down the bar has become my way of focusing on things. Right now I need focusing.

The memories of that world where Wynonna never existed bother me. Of course they do. Some of them are very disturbing, especially those to do with Doc. And I need to think about that, the kind of person he was when he didn't have Wynonna to turn him from one path to another.

He promised to protect me. Can I still count on that? I think so. I hope so. Am I grasping at straws? The way he kissed me before he left, I believe it was to make a point to Wynonna about that. He had to have sensed what was going on. So maybe things aren't as bad as I thought. Maybe.

I look down at the spot on the bar I'm polishing. That's where Wynonna laid Peacemaker. And I was scared but somehow after Doc kissed me the balance seemed to shift. Suddenly she didn't seem as sure of herself as she had been before that little incident. I think it upset her. Definitely it threw her because she realized that Doc has always known that I'm a Revenant.

"When this is over and Nicole makes it," she looked down at Peacemaker instead of me, "I'll shoot you last."

I didn't say anything. But I have a feeling my face showed what I was thinking; which was something along the lines of "Thanks SO fucking much for nothing." So she plowed on.

"I appreciate everything you've done." More silence from me with the obvious reply hanging unspoken in the air of "But that's not enough to keep you from killing me."

"I even like you but..." she groped for words. "Nicole needs us."

I should have been scared. Instead I found that I was mad, as angry as I ever have been in my entire life and that's a long time.

"I know. So you don't have to threaten me. All you have to do is ask."

I was mad then and thinking back to that makes me even madder now. I had become friends with the whole gang. I thought of Waverly as a best friend and that had nothing to do with that single stupid kiss for I was as happy as anyone else that she was with Nicole. They were, are, meant to be together. I got along with both of them and Dolls as well and thought that Wynonna and I were becoming friends too. And it all changed in the space of a couple of hours.

I suppose I should have known. I'm the same person I was yesterday but now everything's changed. Waverly said she wouldn't tell but I guess promises made to a Revenant don't count. And the Earp s were my friends but that doesn't count either apparently. Because I'm a Revenant.

Well regardless if they blew me off I don't have a choice. Nicole, and Waverly too damn it, are still my friends and when I said if there was anything I could do for Nicole I meant it. I know if Nicole is as bad off as it seems than Waverly is probably out of her mind with worry. So I'll try not to blame her. To hell with Wynonna's threats. I head for the Sheriff's Department and Black Badge because it's the only way I can help a friend right now.

Jeremy s there. I can tell that he knows too but my heart thaws a little when I realize my being a Revenant doesn't make any difference to him. I'm still Rosie, still the "buxom biochemist" he called me at our first meeting. That's what's important to him and it's very important to me as well that we're comfortable together.

We can even still tease.

"Did they send your big brain over to help?"

"Mmmmmm, my body actually."

"No one cares about your body," he picks on me obviously remembering, as I do, my trying to push my breasts, heck my whole body at him before, which he is quite immune too.

"Yea I'm starting to get that." I need this, one friend who treats me just like he always has.

He explains about trying to create an anti-venom. He goes into a little too much detail which we do not have time for right this minute.

"I'm not here for the science. I'm your guinea pig."

Okay Rosie, enough self-pity. Time to get to work. I sit down and plug the IV of his possible antidote into my arm.

"Oh my GOD that burns."

It does. It burns like liquid fire, something that I remember all too well. I grit my teeth because this will have an ending to it. I hope. If nothing else it prolongs the time until I might have to face it again. I remind myself that I'm not doing this because of Wynonna's threats. I'm doing it in spite of them.

The pain really hits and I cry out.

"This is not what I signed up for." burst out Jeremy.

"Some of us don't have a choice." I tell him.

Poor Jeremy. I can tell he's upset, especially when I try, and fail, to stifle another cry of pain. He's really such a nice guy. Too bad he's not straight. Where in the world did that come from? I'm with Doc. Doc promised to protect me. And if I have to admit it, at least to me alone, I've fallen in love with him. I don't think he loves me but he never promised that. He does care for me, I know that. So be satisfied with what you have Rosita.

I realize that my mind is wandering because the pain is not as sharp. Did Jeremy follow my suggestion to add a little morphine to the mixture? Possible. Or maybe the solution is changing as he works on it. After all, it would probably kill Nicole in its present solution. Or maybe I'm just used to it.

There's a tug on my arm and I look at my arm. My vision is blurry at best but the needle is gone. There with it in her hand is Waverly. Thank you Waverly. I want to tell her I forgive her for telling Wynonna about me but I'm too loopy. Besides, I'm not a hundred percent certain I do. I wish I was.

There's more of something or other with Dolls and somebody says something and I agree and then I pass out. I wake up in a cell. Seems fitting. Then my bravado disappears. Oh my God. What if Nicole is safe? Oh damn I don't mean it like I hope she's not. But if she IS and I'm in this cell than all that remains is for Wynonna to come finish me off. She did say that when Nicole is safe she would shoot me last.

In a panic I jump up off the couch. Wrong move. My head spins and I fall against the cell door, proving that it's unlocked. And Dolls is in the next one, still out of it. Okay Wynonna is not planning to shoot him so this was just a place to put us while we recovered.

Well I'm recovered. Sort of. How long have I been out? No clue. So I make my way to Shorty s, presently closed and assume my usual station at the bar, wiping down and thinking.

I don't know what's coming but the unsettled feeling deep inside of me says somehow I don't think I'm going to like it. I retreat to the basement and lose myself in my research. Maybe I couldn't help more with Nicole but I can help Dolls a lot if I can lengthen the time the serum lasts. So I go at it until gunfire in the streets outside brings me up the stairs just as Wynonna and the gang come through the doors. Wynonna's about to have her baby.

In amongst everything I hear that Doc and Wynonna finished off the widows. Is the Demon Clootie all that's left? Jeremy seems to know where his tomb is and he and Doc rush out in search of it. Doc kisses Wynonna on the forehead and leaves without a word or glance towards me. He IS going to be a father of course and that overrules everything. Including, I fear, his promise of protection to me. Dolls has gone for the Doctor, Nicole is on some secret errand for Wynonna; leaving only her, me and Waverly.

I instruct Waverly to lock the door. Surely in the crowd I glimpsed out there is at least one Revenant who realizes what is going on and is going to hurry to round up all the rest of them he can. So we need safety from them Strangely, I don't think of me being one of them. Wynonna staggers and I grab her.

"Rosita," she gasps.

"I've got you," I reassure her.

"Sorry."

Maybe she means it. Maybe it's just the pain. I want to believe her but I can't. I don't dare. So I make light of it

"Sorry now. Wait till you have to push."

Revenants. I'm worried about Revenants. But... isn't that what I am? And isn't that how they've come to think of me?

I watch as Waverly comforts Wynonna. Waverly who is in love with Nicole. I was delighted about before but I remember when relationships like that had to be hidden. More than once over years I have seen the results when someone came "out of the closet" when it wasn't received as it is today. More than once have I heard a bewildered man or woman saying "I'm still the same person I was yesterday". As am I. But here in Purgatory apparently "Revenant" is just as horrible a curse word as "Queer" once was. And in front of me are the two most shinning examples of that, a girl I thought was my closest friend who broke her promise to me not an hour after making it and the woman whose best offer is that she'll shoot me last.

I'm not having it. I'm NOT going back to Hell. I didn't deserve it before and I don't deserve it now. I'm angry again but I'm also terrified. I can feel the flames again. I see Peacemaker beside Wynonna and decide that as soon as the baby is born she'll have no more need of me and I won't even be shot last. I act without planning, without thinking.

My hand on the back of Waverly's neck slams her head into the pool table and she falls. Using a piece of cloth I hurl Peacemaker away. And now I'm in control. I let myself go, all the bitterness built up from how I feel they've treated me, how stupid I was to believe they could consider me a friend. Not the Earps.

The baby is coming. I won't hurt it and I promise Wynonna that. I really don't plan to hurt her either. Wynonna asks me to let Waverly go. As if I would hurt Waverly, okay except for knocking her out now. I've never planned to hurt them. That's always been the other way around; them hurting me. But the baby is safety for me. With it as a bargaining chip with Black Badge or the Order I can make them find some way to get me safely out of the Ghost River Triangle and then I'm never coming back.

Then Waverly is on her feet with Peacemaker in her very steady hand and the barrel pointed right at me. I don't worry. I know she won't shoot me.

I shouldn't have said that aloud. For as soon as I do she squeezes the trigger. I flinch but there's only a click. She can't! She's not the Heir. She's not 27. But Wynonna talks to her and suddenly I see the barrel began to glow.

Am I completely and absolutely out of my damn mind? Wynonna grabs my hair and when I twist free I hit her. Hard. Good God I didn't mean to do that. And a smash a bottle and point it at Waverly. Why? I would never cut her. Don't they understand? All I want is too be safe; not to go back to Hell.

Peacemaker fires. But just before it does I see the barrel is glowing blue, not orange. Does that mean anything? What does mean something is that the bullet grazes the side of my head and I'm still as alive as I get.

Waverly shot though. She made Peacemaker works so she could protect her sister and her niece or nephew on the way. Suddenly, strangely I'm proud of her.

"Good for you," I tell her.

Proud of her or not it is past time for me to be gone. I run for the back door, expecting another bullet any second. But the door bangs closed behind me and I'm running down the alley. I have no idea where I'm going. Furthermore I can barely see. The tears I'm crying nearly blind me.

(To be continued?)

(This takes us to the end of season 2. I uncertain where to go from here. After all, it's a longgggggg time until season 3 will be coming around and that's a long time to wait and see what Emily does with Rosita. So I may continue this using my own imagination, which obviously will be weighted in Rosie's favor since I think she was more betrayed than betraying y the people she had come to trust. We'll see.)


	7. Chapter 7

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 7 by patricia51

(After encouragement by two of my best friends here I have decided to go ahead with my own version of what might happen to Rosita after the season 2 finale. I probably will be very vague about some of the surrounding action (i.e. Clootie and all) because the story is about Rosie and what happens after she flees Shorty's. Thanks LushColtrane and NellieJ2011.)

Running and hiding; hiding and running. From the moment I burst from the back door of Shorty's, hoping that Waverly Earp was not pursuing me with Peacemaker in hand that's all I have been doing. Back to where I was months ago, before Doc made his offer. Trying my best to keep a low profile and not find myself in the sights of an angry Wynonna.

Of course it's a lot harder to do that now compared to what it was before. Before no one knew who I was or what I am. Now all the players in the "Let's rid Purgatory of every last Revenant" are not only familiar with me but I bet I'm on top of their shit-list. Not that I can blame them.

Showing that I hadn't been getting a lot of exercise lately I didn't make it a hundred yards down the alley before having to stop and catch my breath. Obviously if I was going to survive I would have to work on that. I remembered some set of rules for surviving in an apocalypse I had seen in some movie. The number one rule was "Cardio". I would have to remember that. Plus, I looked at my legs and sighed, even though I loved them the thigh high boots were going to have to go.

Movement caught my eye. From the other direction Dolls was running towards Shorty's. Just as he disappeared in the door I had just exited I heard a commotion inside the bar, followed by the thunder of Peacemaker. Sounded like the Revenant brethren had made it only to be unpleasantly surprised judging from the high pitched screaming I heard. And I thought even from this distance I could catch a whiff of fire and brimstone.

The reports of a second gun joined Peacemaker and I knew that Dolls was in the fight. Estupida Rosita. If you had kept your calm you could be fighting side by side with them right now, proving once and for all you were on the side of the good guys.

Maybe. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference. I thought I had already proved myself but being a Revenant took precedence. I got up and got going. I reached Main Street just in time to see Nicole's Sheriff's Department SUV go roaring by. A quick glimpse showed me that Nicole was driving and Waverly was in the passenger's seat. Was she holding something? Of course. The baby. They were headed somewhere in a hurry. I hope it was someplace safe.

I hesitated. My plan was... I had no plan. Panic and fear and bitterness had led me to act out of character, or rather to act just like the Earp s and everyone else expected me to act. But that was done and no amount of moaning could undo it. So I needed to figure out what to do, keeping in mind that I was trapped inside the Ghost River Triangle. But that was my fault. I didn't find out until after I had followed my curiosity and the continual tugging sensation I felt drawing me here that once I was inside the boundaries I couldn't get out. Well not without becoming roasted Rosita.

I needed someplace to go and some means to survive until I can find a place and work again. I sigh. Just my luck that before I crossed the line I had placed what was left of my gold and silver for safe=keeping in a certain place. And of course that place is elsewhere and no; I can't get it without personally appearing there. Another bright idea of mine, insisting that I and I alone have access to it.

So I reverse course. As quietly as possible I steal back to Shorty's. Wynonna and Dolls are gone and as always there's no evidence of the Revenants except for a little charring on the floor. Judging from that I estimate at least 10 Revenants are back in Hell. That's about the biggest haul I've ever heard of.

For a minute I hesitate. Dolls. Dolls was always good to me even after he found out my nature. I'm sure he's not that well disposed towards me now but I still worry about him. I had got close to making the serum last for two weeks but I wasn't done yet. Well maybe some day I can get together with Jeremy. I still trust him.

So the basement is out. I slip upstairs to the bedroom I share, shared, with Doc. I gather up some clothes and pack them in a couple of bags. I pull a drawer out from the dresser and reach into the cavity, grunting as my fingers find the bag I keep my money in. It IS mine, the share of the profits that Doc gave me. Those were small at first but grew, especially when it became apparent he would not need to repay Agent Lucardo.

I debate leaving a note. What would I say? I should just leave. But I owe him something. Even if he doesn't love me I do love him. I find a piece of paper. I tell him I'm sorry; that I screwed up and it was all my fault. I tell him I know he loves Wynonna and that's the right thing to do. I ask him to forgive Waverly for me for her letting my secret go right after she told me she wouldn't and I hope one day she'll forgive me for what I did even though I know she won't forget it. I tell him I panicked but that I never ever would have hurt his child.

I debated saying I love you but he wouldn't believe that anyway. I sign it "Rosie" and then I'm gone.

I almost turn back. I should have simply said "I'm sorry". Yeah well not a good time for second thoughts. I barely get back out the door and I hear the front door opening.

So where do I go next? And how do I get to wherever that might be? I'd pace but a moving figure draws attention. So I make myself as inconspicuous as possible and think. I don't have a car. Stealing one would draw attention. I suspect the bus line would be watched and it only runs every other day anyway. So either I walk or I catch a ride.

In fact I end up doing both. Fortunately the walking was just enough to get me out of town because I still had those damn boots on. But that's probably what caught the attention of the trucker who stopped to give me a lift. Since I was not really made to hide out in the woods I got him to take me to the little town where the "Forever Eternity" spa is located. It's not as far away from Purgatory as I would like and it sits uncomfortably near the Triangle line, which means I can't run very far in that direction if flight is required. But it will do and I get a job at the spa and even a room upstairs. Well, back when I was learning the profession I was told that a good bartender can always find a job.

Over the next few weeks I settled in but never stopped looking over my shoulder. A time or two I thought I caught a glimpse of someone who might be familiar. Taking no chances whenever that happened I made sure I stayed out of sight. I figured that Wynonna and company most likely had other more important things on their minds than hunting me but after all the two times I had run into an Earp previously had both been accidental. That would have made no difference as to where I would have ended up if either had shot me dead. Deader.

So I worked and when I wasn't working I brooded. Mostly I brooded over my actions. What I did was wrong, no doubt about it. But even with hindsight I don't know that there was another course. Was there? If I had stayed my hand and helped deliver the baby would Wynonna had stayed HER hand or would she have picked up Peacemaker immediately after and told me I wasn't needed anymore? Maybe so. Maybe not. But I think I would have slipped away immediately after anyway. I m sorry, I just don't trust her.

Enough. Thinking about what could have been doesn't help. I have been doing that ever since that hot afternoon in 1897. I try not to brood, to let go of my bitterness and yes my guilt. I work hard and smile at the customers and listen to them. AT night I sometimes take long walks in the dark and just listen to the night. It was on one of those walks I heard something strange.

What was a helicopter doing out here? And landing. I move quietly as close as I can get. It's just on the other side of the border, I can feel the heat on my skin the dividing line produces, warning me to go no further. There's enough moonlight so I can the men getting out. Heavily armed men in tactical gear. The man in the center looks familiar. Why?

I realize I have never seen him before but I have heard his description often enough from Doc, who hates him. It's Richard Moody. So Black Badge is back. And slipping into the Triangle like that doesn't make me think they're coming to the rescue for anyone except themselves. I listen intently and the words I hear confirm my suspicions.

"Get into your groups. Jackson get us some transportation. Quietly if possible. We'll move on Purgatory as soon as possible. I want to hit them around 3 when no one will be expecting anything. Remember, Wynonna Earp and her child need to be taken alive. The rest..." even in the dim light I can see the uncaring gesture he makes.

While they set up I sneak away. What am I going to do? They're hunting my former friends. But still they were my friends once. What if I went to Moody and offered my help in retrieving the baby? I dismiss that immediately. I didn't trust black Badge before and even less now. I did promise Wynonna the baby would be safe and this isn't the way to do it. Do I still owe her that? What am I going to do?

(To be continued)

(In "Whiskey Lullaby" Nicole advises a restless Wynonna to go to a spa. Wynonna replies that Purgatory doesn't have one. So "Forever Eternity" must be elsewhere and it doesn't seem likely it would be sitting somewhere all by itself. And of course it would have to be somewhere inside the Triangle or a nervous Waverly and a at that time unrevealed Rosita wouldn't go there.)


	8. Chapter 8

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 8 by patricia51

(On the road to Purgatory)

(By the way, the reference to "Cardio" in the last chapter was of course to Rule number 1 of Columbus's rules for surviving a zombie Apocalypse from the movie "Zombieland".)

Holy shit. That bump nearly threw me off. Serves me right for stealing a motorcycle. I haven't ridden one of them in 20 years. I hope "just like riding a bike" applies to the kind with an engine as well as the type you pedal. Well I'm nearly halfway and I haven't lost it yet. Yet.

I wrestled with what to do about the Black Badge strike force all the way back to the spa. I wrestled with it after I borrowed Sam's motorcycle. Well maybe "borrowed" is not exactly the word that applies. He works days and was sound asleep and I didn't want to wake him. Just as long as I could find his keys.

I wrestled with what to do while I got the bike out from the garage, while I started it and got on it. I wrestled with the decision as I wobbled back and forth across the road, going slow and without the light so I didn't draw attention to myself. Then I was around two curves, turned the light on and gave it the gas.

Then I picked myself up after the bike wheeled out from under me, dumping me ass first on the road. I then picked up the bike and started over again, this time taking a lot more care as to how fast I opened the throttle. And I was still debating what Ii was going to do, all the way up till I reached Purgatory and pulled up in front of the Sheriff's/Black Badge station.

I do hesitate for a moment at the door. Worst case, everyone in the gang is there. Best case it's only Jeremy. I summon my courage and go in. I tip-toe by what's-his-name at the Sheriff's desk. There's a light on in Black Badge. Taking a deep breath I crack the door and slip in, where I am immediately confronted by a startled Jeremy. And a very grim faced Deputy Marshal Dolls who is demonstrating just how fast he can draw his sidearm.

Jeremy gets in the first words.

"Rosie what are you doing here?"

At least I'm still on a first name basis with him. Not so with Dolls though, who has me in his sights now and looks as though he would enjoy nothing more than shooting me full of holes. Not that it would finish me off but it would incapacitate me enough so he could throw me back in that cell where I could wait for a happy Wynonna to show up with Peacemaker. And she certainly doesn't need to be here for both our sakes.

"Don't make any sudden moves Bustillos."

I sigh but a little of that anger left over from the Earp's treatment of me surfaces as well. From the surprise on his face he didn't expect me to snap back.

"Dolls we don't have time from that BS. Your old boss is on the way with a group of BBD agents and the only ones he is interested in taking alive is Wynonna and the baby."

"Well the baby is..." Jeremy gets that far before Dolls tell him to cork it. I wave it off.

"I don't need or want to know that," I announce. I know Waverly and Nicole took the baby somewhere but I don't know where and seriously do not want that knowledge. "Anyway," I continue, "consider your selves warned. There's a good dozen heavily armed guys planning on hitting you in the wee hours of the morning. Moody said something about 3 but I doubt that's fixed in stone. So you know and I've got to get going."

"Wait," Dolls holds up a hand in the classic Stop-right-there-signal." He turns to Jeremy. "Get all the important lab stuff together and hide it. Especially the serum and all the notes. Then get to the safe house."

He returns his attention to me. "Why are you telling us this?" His skepticism is obvious and well-deserved.

"Beats me," I confess. "I asked myself that the whole way over here."

"From where?"

"You don't need to know that," I tell him rather sharply. "Suffice it to say that I got scared and did something really stupid but the entire fault isn t on my side. You were my friends and I owe you."

"Good enough. I need you to do something."

I'm already shaking my head because I know whatever he wants me to do I'm not going to like it. And I don't.

"I need you to go to Nicole's place and warn her and Waverly. I need to go to the Homestead and tell Wynonna and Jeremy will go to Shorty's and tell Doc after he finishes here."

Me see Waverly AND Nicole? Not a good idea. I tell him that. He waves away my protests.

"Rosita we don't have time for BS you told me. So don't give me any."

"What about phones?" I make my last ditch appeal before noticing he already has one in his hand.

"Three voice mails and you know perfectly well Doc doesn't have one. Please Rosita."

Darn him. Okay. I mount my trusty steed, half wishing that it was a horse. You can talk to a horse. You can't talk to a machine. Well maybe some people can but I'm too nineteenth century for that. I swerve back and forth as usual until I reach an agreement with this thing and take off for Nicole's.

I shut the bike off before I'm actually at Nicole's house. It takes me a moment to summon up my courage. Not that I see either of them harming me. No what scares me is what I expect to see in their eyes, in their faces when they see me. Anger certainly but most of all, especially from Waverly, disappointment. Of course after her previous experience Nicole might just shoot through the door. I hope she's too professional for that.

Enough wasting time I scold myself. I mount the steps and knock. And wait. Nothing. I knock again. Same result. Oh for heaven's sake. I use the flat of my hand and pound on the door.

"Get up you two! Get up! Black Badge is coming!"

Still nothing. Just as I'm considering trying to kick down the door or break a window the door swings open and I'm blinded by what is probably a very bright flashlight. I'm sure there's also a gun pointed at me. I open my mouth but don't get a chance to speak. There's a tiny sound behind me and as I turn something about two-by-four size connects with the back of my head and all I see now is stars before they dissolve into nothing at all.

Fortunately, just like being dead doesn't last long for me neither does being unconscious. I manage to stifle a groan and lay still so I can avoid Waverly smacking me again with what I see through barely cracked eyelids is not a two-by-four but a baseball bat. Same difference. It hurts. Then she rushes inside and I hear her and Nicole talking.

"It WAS her!"

"I can't believe it."

"Call Wynonna. Call Dolls."

"You call your sister. I'll call Dolls."

"I have a message from him."

"Me too. Must be a warning. Somehow he found out she was back in town and gunning for us."

Swell. I bet they don't even listen to them. Thanks once again Waverly for jumping to conclusions about me. I manage to get my hands under me and push myself to a sitting position. My head spins as I get to my feet and for a moment I'm afraid I'm going to pass out.

"Wynonna. Pick up. Bustillos is back in town. We caught her sneaking around Nicole's."

Oh my, change the facts there much Waverly? I was hardly sneaking; I was knocking on your front door. And I guess we're not friends anymore since you're calling me by my last name. Well I expected that. I make it to the road and reel down it to the bike. I can still hear them.

"Dolls? This is Nicole. Rosita Bustillos is back. She's here at my house. We... What? WHAT? You did? Oh shit." Then she must be talking to Waverly and I can tell that they're coming back to the front door. Time to go Rosie.

"She came to Dolls. Black Badge is on their way and they want Wynona and the baby. He sent her to warn us while he goes to the Homestead to get Wynonna."

"Oh shit!" That seems to be getting to be a common saying all of a sudden.

I kick the bike to life and spin around. Barely hanging on I get moving. Anywhere but here. As I do I hear Waverly screaming behind me.

"Rosita! Rosie! Come back!"

Yeah like that's going to happen. Why are Earp's always saying that to me? I don't know if they can see the middle finger I flip them or not but I know it's there.

I have no idea where I'm going. I have no clear idea where this road is taking me. I certainly don't know what time it is. And I have no idea where I am as the bike wanders off the road into a ditch and pitches me off and into some friendly soft bushes where I pass out.

(To be continued) 


	9. Chapter 9

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 9 by patricia51

Good God it's cold. Why is it so cold? Oh, that's it. I'm covered with snow. I probably would have figured that out quicker if my head didn't hurt so much. This ground is really hard. So why am I laying here?

The events of the last day come back. Oh that's right. I fell off the motorcycle. No scratch that. It threw me. Damn bike.

My head really hurts. I think I landed on it and besides Waverly Earp hit me on the back of my head with a baseball bat. I'm lucky it was a glancing blow. Maybe a direct hit wouldn't have killed me but it probably would have rearranged my head into a strange and unusual configuration.

I wonder how long I've been here. It rather feels comfortable or at least too much effort to get up. I crack one eye open again. Yep, it's still snowing. I wonder what happens to a Revenant when you get completely buried in snow and freeze. Would I just stay here until Spring and then come back? Golly that seems like an awfully long time.

I'm hungry. I didn't stop to eat anything last night before getting on Sam's bike and heading for Purgatory. Well it was after midnight. Still a snack might have been nice. I wonder if I damaged the bike. Sam will be seriously pissed if I did.

It hits me. Ouch, wrong choice of words. Just thinking "hit" makes my head hurt more. Regardless, it's pretty obvious that I have a concussion. Waverly must have hit me a lot harder than Tucker did. But then I did hit Waverly first.

My mind is wandering. I need to get up. What's the point of being a Revenant if you don't take advantage of it? So I drag myself to a handy pine tree and use it to help pull myself up. Once on my feet I immediately throw up. Yep, concussion all right. Better not go to sleep Rosie. Yea I just woke up from being unconscious for... for how long? I find my phone and squint at it. Okay, not too bad, I've been out for a couple of hours. If Sam's bike will run, and I offer a prayer that it will, I can make it back and get it back in the garage before he notices it's gone. With the amount he drinks he might even think he put all the scratches that I'm sure are on it.

The bike surprisingly turns out to be in one piece. It even starts. Sure does spend a lot of time zigzagging back and forth across the road though. Headlight doesn't seem to do very much either. Oh wait, is it on? Nope. Turning it on works much better.

Somehow I have found my way back on to the road leading back to the spa. I'm better than halfway back now. The road does seem to be straightening out as my headache slowly fades. That allows me to think over the events of the last couple of hours. I'm pretty sure I made the right choice, baseball bat or no baseball bat. What else should I have expected? A warm welcome? "Rosie I'm sorry I told Wynonna you were a revenant right after I told you I wouldn't" or maybe "Thanks for coming to warn us". Okay the last isn't completely logical since she didn't know that when she hit me but still. What did she think I was going to do, attack her and an armed Nicole? But then I'm just a Revenant. But Jeremy called me Rosie and that makes me feel better.

The spa and all its surroundings are still dark when I get back. I manage to get Sam's bike into its spot and sneak up to his room where he is fast asleep. I sniff. Fast asleep drunk is more like it. I put the keys on the nightstand. That's not actually where I found them but it will give more credence to the idea that he doesn't remember riding it. Then I slip back to my room and stretch out. I'm glad I don't have to go to work till the afternoon.

I'm just about asleep when the roar of engines brings me out of bed. Sliding to the window I carefully move a single slat in the blinds, just enough for me to peek out. Three SUV's driving nose to tail (why do they do that I wonder? It's not the first time I've seen that. Is it to show off? One twitch and the whole convoy becomes a large stationary wreck) in the way government vehicles often do. I shake off my weariness and rush down the stairs as they continue on towards the edge of the Triangle.

Hope they don't drive all the way to the edge. Not only is that a little farther than I want to drag my weary Revenant body but let's face it, I wasn't granted any super powers other than being hard to kill. I can't fly and I'm hardly the flash. Fortunately I see brake lights up ahead and then interior lights when I get closer. I try not to pant too loudly. It's a darn good thing I followed through on my determination to get in better shape even if it was primarily to run from Earp's with Peacemakers.

I crouch down and make my way close enough to make out something about each person. There's Moody and he's grumbling. And doing it rather loudly for someone who supposedly specializes in stealth. That raises my spirits. If he had made any of his major objectives he'd be much happier. I count the gathered forms around him. I think that's the same number I saw when they got here.

I shake my head. I think it's the same number? Doc used to tease me all the time, reminding me I could hold the most complex chemical formulas in my head but couldn't remember if I had sent 3 drinks or 4 to a table. Okay banish that Rosie. First it has nothing to do with the situation at hand and secondly memories about Doc just hurt. That's gone and it's not coming back. Concentrate.

They form a line and head for where the chopper is. I DO concentrate and count. Yes it's the same number. Plus no one is being carried or staggering while being led as though they were drugged or otherwise being controlled. The early morning breeze is blowing from them to me and I pick up no scent of gunpowder. I would think if they HAD fired their weapons, and goodness knows Dolls or Wynonna and the rest wouldn't go down without a fight, they wouldn't have had time to have cleaned them already.

I settle in and watch as they climb aboard the chopper and take off. Without a doubt there is no one with them. They failed. I succeeded. I guess. No I did, even if my headache still hasn't gone away. So I trudge back to the spa and fall into bed. This time I sleep.

The next morning I resume my normal routine. Get up, go for a run and work out, shower and get ready for work. In my spare time I continued to explore the area (you never can have too many hiding places and escape routes when someone has promised to send you to hell) and work on my computer. Amazingly I had figured out a way to access the stuff I had stored outside the Triangle. I inherited it. It cost a fair amount of money to come up with a death certificate and a will that left everything to my beloved daughter who had been named after me. I don't know exactly how it all worked. That was for attorneys, honest and otherwise, to arrange.

When all was said and done I ended up with about half my original hoard. Oh well, better than none at all right? I was contemplating buying or renting a house. There was a fairly constant turnover around here since the other people here weren't stuck inside the Ghost River Triangle. That would allow me to get some equipment ordered and maybe work some more on Doll's serum. After all, I need to be doing something just as I continued to work at the spa. I'm not made to sit around and contemplate my navel. And there was a suggestion I had made long ago to Wynonna that I was planning on doing for myself now.

During this time I was keeping an eye out for anyone from that old gang of mine who might be looking for me. I thought once I might have caught a glimpse of Dolls but I ducked out and when I got back he was gone. No one came up to me to mention that someone was looking for me either. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Dolls maybe I could talk to. He knew I was a Revenant before the big showdown and never said a word. But where could that lead? No where I suppose.

I was feeling much better now that a few weeks had gone by. My concussion had faded and I wasn't throwing up anymore. I swear for a time there I was living on Saltines in the morning. I had switched from running to brisk walking but kept at my exercises since I really needed to be fit now. The first equipment had arrived along with a lot of extra safety equipment I need to be using now. I was installing it in the basement of the house I had settled on when the door at the top of the stairs creaked as it opened. I froze, my mind screaming at me to start running although there was no place to go. Then I saw who it was and calmed down.

"Jeremy you scared me to death."

"I'm sorry Rosie, I didn't mean to" he apologized. Then I must have turned sideways towards him because he followed up with a thunderous "Oh shit!".

(To be continued) 


	10. Chapter 10

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 10 by patricia51

"Oh shit!"

"Yes, well I said the same thing when I figured it out."

"I didn't think... I mean, I didn't know that... how... I didn't know Revenants could get, well, you know..."

"Pregnant is the word you're looking for Jeremy."

"Yeah," he said swaying slightly on his feet. I grabbed his arm and guided him to a handy stool and got a bottle of water out of my recently installed refrigerator.

"Here."

He drank practically the entire thing in long continuous swallow and then proceeded to get choked. I waited for him to get his composure back. I had to admit it, he actually hadn't freaked out as much as I had once I realized that what was causing me to throw up in the mornings had nothing to do with a possible concussion. I seriously panicked.

Perhaps it was funny, perhaps it was sad. Perhaps it was both. But my very first thought had been "What will my mother say? Good Catholic girls don't get pregnant without already having a husband!" Then I cried because my mother has been gone for well over a century and I hardly had been acting like a good girl of any kind for a very long time. I know it's stupid but we react as we were brought up.

After I got over that then I started to actually get worried. What did I know about being a mother? How was I going to raise a child, especially when there's a bull s-eye painted on my back? Hell on my chest as well. Regardless of what Jeremy said once about no one wanting my body the Earp's certainly do, on fire and falling into the pit.

Well that's not going to happen. I've been hiding and I will continue to lay low as much as possible. I'm certainly not going to look for trouble. But if it comes I'm not going to back away from it either or fall to my knees and beg. I'm going to be prepared.

And I am. Jeremy was so mesmerized by the bulge of my tummy that he didn't even see me pull a pistol from its concealed holster underneath my work table. It's locked and loaded and it only took a second to brush the safety off with my thumb. The instant I saw who it was I drew his attention with my left hand and slipped the gun back into its holster. I really trust Jeremy but there have been enough slips of the tongue and if the Earp's come hunting me I don't want them to know what surprises I have for them.

Jeremy takes a deep breath. I could almost laugh because he still hasn't stopped looking at my baby bump. "I didn't know it was possible. I have heard rumors but I didn't really believe them."

Rumors? Revenant or half Revenant children? I tell him to give. Tell him? I practically beg him. Sweet guy that he is he does. He tells me about Nicole and Wynonna going to one of the strip clubs and meeting a guy by the name of Jonas there, one of the bouncers. I get a sinking feeling because I know who Jonas is and what he is and I can't believe he's the father of Wynonna's baby.

As it turns out he wasn't and he's no longer with us but before he left this vale of tears he admitted that he had heard something of this sort happening before but he had no further information about it. It was NOT Waverly. When I saw her and Nicole taking off it was to go to the Purgatory line where she walked across the line holding the baby with Nicole ready to snatch them back if there were any ill effects. There weren't. So Doc is the baby's father and Waverly is human. Or, come to think of it, at least not half-Revenant. Who her parents are is still up for grabs. Or maybe what. Seriously. Could she be part Angel or something like that?

Anyway back to the matter at hand which is how Jeremy found me. Well that answer is easy.

"Dolls told me."

Swell. How did HE know? Jeremy shrugs. Swell again. I wonder why he didn't come?

Jeremy answers that as well. It seems like the serum we developed is losing its effect. So he's here to brainstorm possible solutions. That sounds fine; I've been thinking about it myself. So we plunge in.

I let Jeremy do the actual hands-on handling of our different mixtures. I do don protective clothing and a mask. No taking chances for me. I understand Wynonna's grumbling about having to give up drinking. I could really use a stiff shot of bourbon myself right now. Anything but that sludge Doc tried to serve me that first day at Shorty's.

Speaking of Doc I ache to ask about him. I can't make myself do it. So Jeremy in his usual shy, sweet and generally awkward way brings him up.

"So," he tilts his head towards my bump, "Doc's?"

"Yes." That's all I say. Interestingly that's the first time I've said it even to myself. I have no doubts on the subject. While I was hardly a virgin when Doc and I met I haven't been with anyone but him since then and before that it had been an entire year. Come to think of it, it might have been two. Damn.

"Are you going to tell him? He deserves to know."

He does but I have no idea how to break the news to him. And no, I tell Jeremy I don't want him to do it. The whole situation is because of my actions and it's all my responsibility. So we go back to working on Dolls' serum.

The days stretch into weeks and then months. I have a hard time finding an Ob/Gyn since those self-righteous morons of the order killed Doctor Navalar and for all I know everyone else at her clinic to preserve the secret of Wynonna's baby so they could carry her off themselves. I find it quite poetic, given their other role as fireman that Dolls turned them all into crispy critters with his dragon breath. Fortunately I found her replacement and she's excellent. I never worried about doctors before. It s not like I need one much. Before that is.

Interestingly all my blood work comes back with normal parameters for a human. I take a lot of notes and begin a study of Revenant versus human physiology. Hey I might as well put my biochemistry doctorate to use on my own behalf as well as Dolls'.

Not that things aren't going well on that front. Jeremy works in his lab, I work here and sometimes he comes over and we combine our efforts. And the last couple of visits he brought Dolls. Well, I can't go there so he has to come here so we can test things out. It's working too; we've got him stable again and have extended the serum to last for two weeks. As far as my own project goes I have found absolutely nothing so far.

That project at least. I have another. And it involves me sneaking into Purgatory on Sunday mornings. Well it's the only Catholic Church in the whole Triangle. With a brand newly assigned priest. I'm going to Mass.

I need some answers. I know there are curses, demons and I certainly know there's a Hell. But is that all? Is it all darkness or is there light as well? Angels, Heaven and perhaps forgiveness. I need to know that. Or at least believe in it again. I did once, before a curse condemned me.

Time passed. I got closer and closer to my due date. The baby was in perfect health. Oh and it's a boy. I hadn't come up with a name yet though. My mind was feeling easier as I continued to attend church and even get involved in some interesting discussions about good versus evil. I had seen Doc twice, from a distance and neither time was he with Wynonna. Does that make me stupid? Probably. And neither time could I muster the courage to go talk to him and tell him.

It's a weekday after noon and Dolls and Jeremy have both slipped over to meet me as I have a new idea for the serum based on something I discovered about Revenant DNA that might explain how resistant we are to any death except that of Peacemaker. I know its all magic but science can bear on it too. It's interesting and all is calm here.

Of course just when I think everything is okay it's not. For there are new footsteps on the stairs and a very familiar and unwanted voice speaks.

"So this is where you two have been sneaking off to. I never would have believed it."

Both Dolls and Jeremy start talking. A lot and quickly. From what they say and from what I hear behind me Nicole and Waverly are here as well. But none of it drowns out Wynonna's voice.

"Make your peace Bustillos."

Oh God. All my planning and I'm caught completely off guard. No weapon anywhere near me and my secret escape hatch on the other side of the room. Both Dolls and Jeremy are several steps away, too far for me to try to jump behind or they get in front of me although both start my way. All I can do is turn to face her and hope the sight affects her just like it has every one else.

If it does it's not in time. For the instant I see Peacemaker's glowing barrel she fires. I can see the bullet coming. All I can do is cry out and desperately try to move so it hits me anywhere except where my baby is while I cross my arms to try to shield him.

I don't know if I succeed. The pain washes over me and I hit the floor. As everything goes black I hear Wynonna scream.

"Oh my God NO!"

And then there is nothing.

(To be continued) 


	11. Chapter 11

Worst Second Date Ever, Chapter 11 by patricia51

"Open your eyes Rosita. Come on, open your eyes."

I didn't want to open my eyes. It just was too much effort. The only thing bothering me up till now was that darn beeping noise. But it was nice and steady so I was getting used to it. I felt so tired but at the same time so comfortable. I nearly giggled. Somehow it reminded me of what I had promised Wynonna when she talked about childbirth.

"I could mix you up a cocktail that will make birth feel like you are on a giant swan floating being hand fed chocolates by Chris Evans."

Wynonna. Childbirth. Pregnancy. Suddenly the memories came flooding back. And that beeping went crazy, just as crazy I suddenly felt. I tried to jump up. I couldn't. But I could look down. And what I saw threatened to tear a scream from me. I could see my feet for the first time in months.

In fact I did try to scream. But I couldn't. My voice failed me. What came out was no louder than a dry desiccated whisper.

"My baby."

I swallowed. I tried again. Why couldn't I scream? Again, in a voice that I could tell can hardly be heard two feet away from me.

"My baby."

"What?" It was the same voice that had been telling me to open my eyes. I wished I hadn't. I wished I could have never opened my eyes again. It wouldn't matter if I had been sent back to Hell. I was in Hell already.

Third time's a charm. I took the deepest breath I ever have in all my many years. This time I wheezed in a voice that at least could be heard across the room.

"My baby!"

Two hands grabbed mine. The same now vaguely familiar female voice that had been urging me to open my eyes was telling me to calm down. How could I do that? Then a face appeared over mine and I panicked even more. It's Waverly Earp! The beeping goes completely wild as I try to get away and she holds me with a strength I never knew she had. She calls for help though and Nicole Haught joins her to try to hold me down. What are they doing? What do they want? What have they already done to me?

It's probably Nicole's police training but her commanding voice actually cuts through my fear and disorientation.

"Rosita! Calm down. Your baby is fine. You're both fine. It's alright. Breathe Rosie breathe."

I don't know why but for some reason I trust her. I trust them both in spite of the fact the last time I saw them Nicole was pointing a gun at me and Waverly hit me over the head with a baseball bat. But then I did waked them up in the middle of the night and the last time I saw Waverly I banged her head against a pool table knocking her out. Maybe we could just call it all even?

Why can't I keep my mind focused? The relief that hit me over Nicole's words has taken all the energy from my body and I sink back into the bed with my eyes shut. Besides I'm really dizzy. That beeping has calmed down though so that's nice. Wait a minute. I pry my eyes back open and look around as best as I can.

Holy shit. I'm in a hospital. I mean I'm IN a hospital. I'm a patient. I have monitors glued all over me that are causing that beeping, tubes sticking in my arms and I can feel that I'm wearing one of those stupid gowns that open all the way down the back. But that's impossible. Isn't it? I'm a Revenant.

The last time I was killed by Tucker. Or so the little shit thought. He had hit me and strangled me. But I came back to life pretty quickly. I don't like to think of myself as a vindictive person but it felt really good to smash that bottle over his head. I didn't even kill him although I understand his gnawed-on body was found out in the woods later and this time there was no doubt who he was.

The point I'm making with myself is that I shouldn't be in bed here feeling this weak. I should be up and running around. So once again, what the hell is going on?

My confusion must show on my face for Waverly squeezes my hands again and smiles at me. I really like that smile and am glad it's aimed at me. I don't have romantic feelings for her but I did want her as a BFF. Maybe? When I find out what's happening that is.

"I know it's all very confusing Rosita but Dolls and Jeremy have been brain storming and think they have an explanation. However that can wait." And it can for Nicole comes back in. I hadn't even noticed she had left but she did and in her arms is a blanket wrapped bundle that she places in my arms.

I look down at a little pinched red face. He yawns and I swear he looks up at me and smiles. He has a little bit of dark hair, the same color as his father. I peer but I don't see any sign of a mustache. I guess that will come later. Okay getting a little carried away there aren't we Rosita? Overall he's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. I cradle him and whisper to him and sing softly. He yawns again and falls back asleep and Nicole takes him back to the nursery. Pretty soon I fall asleep myself.

I have no idea what the time was the first time I was awake but when I open my eyes the nest time it's morning and a nurse is bringing him in. I had originally planned to breast feed but I'm told that I'm going to have to at least supplement with bottle feedings. Something about the damage from "my accident". I suppose there's no arguing with that so I pay attention as she demonstrates how to hold the bottle and tells me all about temperatures and how to make sure the milk isn't too hot. I pay careful attention. I don't know how or why but it looks like I'm going to be around to raise him.

Interestingly no one is here this morning. A doctor comes in and talks to me about my accident. Apparently I was struck by some unknown object. It penetrated my right forearm where it was deflected up and to the left, fortunately missing the baby but lodging close to my heart. As soon as I arrived at the hospital they performed an emergency C-Section and then rushed me into surgery. It seems it was touch and go but I pulled through and I should be fine although he recommends a course of physical therapy that exhausts me just listening to it.

He leaves me with some comments that cause me to really think. "You are very fortunate Ms. Bustillos that the people who found you were so capable. Their first aid kept you alive unlike the Para-medics got there and then the air ambulance. Indeed the Para-medics report state that you flat lined twice on the way here. Amazingly they were able to get your heart and breathing going again both times. Someone is looking out for you."

Air Ambulance? Exactly where in the world AM I? An uneasy feeling fills me. As casually as possible I ask the nurse which hospital I am at. The reply floors me. It's impossible. IMPOSSIBLE. Why? Because I'm now about fifty miles outside the Ghost River Triangle and I haven't turned into Roast Rosita. How?

My confusion must have been apparent for the nurse was quick to reassure me.

"Your friends said you might be surprised to be at this hospital and said they would tell you all about it later. Now you just concentrate on getting better and taking care of your baby."

I did as I was told but I have to admit a lot of it was simply mechanical. In keeping with the idea of getting me on my feet as soon as possible I was helped out of bed and sent up and down the corridor. I knew it wouldn't do any good to complain but I did it anyway. But it helped to keep my mind occupied until I found out why I wasn't dead. Or in Hell. Or both.

It was the evening before the door opened and the figures began to file in. Jeremy and Dolls, Nicole and Waverly and finally Wynonna. Involuntarily I tensed at the sight of her. I mean she had all the time in the world to shoot me, last or not, recently so I really didn't think she was going to yank Peacemaker out and start blasting. But I've been known to be wrong about things before.

The silence rapidly became deafening. We all looked at each other and no one seemed inclined to speak. Since I was the guest of honor so to speak I decided to go first.

"Okay. I am grateful beyond giving thanks as to my being here and not elsewhere but I really want to know why."

Surprisingly Wynonna answered. "Dolls and Jeremy have a theory and it may well be true. But maybe a little demonstration is in order. You know, picture versus a thousand words type thing." She then proceeded to try to give me a heart attack. For she suddenly whipped Peacemaker out from under her jacket and I was staring down the barrel.

"Wynonna!" was a protest chorus that seemed to come from every other person in the room. She didn't seem bothered at all. Instead she gave me that crooked grin of hers.

"Notice anything different?"

I managed to tear my eyes from looking right down that muzzle that looked as big as a train tunnel to me right the. And it hit me. The barrel wasn't glowing! I swear my jaw dropped far enough to hit the bed covers as she first lowered her hand cannon and then put it away.

It was Dolls who spoke next.

"Rosita, apparently you are no longer a Revenant."

Upon hearing that I did the only reasonable thing. I fainted.

I must not have been out for long because when I came too everyone was still in exactly the same positions as they had been. I needed answers but all I could do is sputter.

"What? How? When?"

Dolls, supported by Jeremy, did his best to explain.

"Sometime between the time Wynonna shot you and you were loaded on the helo to carry you here. We were torn about that. You needed a big city hospital to save you and the baby but yes, we worried about the Triangle line."

Jeremy took over. "What began to tip us off was that you flat lined twice while the local EMT's were working on you. And you didn't come right back. Rosie based on what we have seen about Revenants you should have either been dead and burned up or back on your feet in no time. Granted you had been shot with Peacemaker but things weren't adding up. Then we had a bit of a revelation."

"What?" I asked when no one went on.

"Well," Wynonna sounded embarrassed. She even looked embarrassed, which under different circumstances I might have found funny. "When you turned and I saw you, that you were pregnant and I was already pulling the trigger. I tried, I tried to miss you but I just wasn't fast enough. And then, "Now she really looked embarrassed, "I lost it. I dropped Peacemaker, terrified of what I had done. And I could only stand there like a zombie while everyone else rallied around you. But when the EMT's got there, and who would have thought a spa supported its own emergency crew, I picked up Peacemaker and realized that it wasn't glowing."

Dolls jumped in again. "We still really don't know how it happened, even though Jeremy has been going without sleep trying to figure it out. Who knows? I could have been one thing it may have been a combination of many things. You actually were an innocent condemned by a curse that had nothing to do with you. It may be that you actually died twice, even if for only seconds." He reached out and touched the little silver crucifix I was wearing around my neck. "Maybe a higher power had something to do with. Maybe it was the complete innocence of the child inside you. Regardless, Rosita Bustillos you are now without a doubt completely human."

I was speechless. Okay that didn't last very long. In turn each of the group that had been my friends and hopefully were again came individually and we talked. There was forgiveness granted and thanks given on all sides. Even Wynonna, last one as always, hugged me briefly and told me she was looking forward to my return to Purgatory.

"If you want to come. Remember you're not bound there anymore."

They left me alone with my thoughts. What was I going to do? Waverly had whispered to me that Perry Crofte could make arrangements to carry me and the baby far away, possibly to where her Aunt Gus was safeguarding Alice Michelle. That was very tempting but it wasn't my decision to make alone. I just hoped that other party would come so we could decide together. So I waited.

And at dusk he came, slipping through the door and closing it behind him. I was holding the baby. My milk had started to come in and I was attempting to nurse him as well as bottle feed him. He swept off his hat and pulled the chair next to the bed. He studied me carefully before he spoke.

"I should be made at you."

"I know."

"Not just for what you did in Shorty's but for keeping all this a secret from me."

"I know."

"Had all this not happened what were you going to do?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I was torn. So I put it off and just went from day-to-day, figuring it would all somehow work out."

He nodded. I have no idea if what I said made sense but he seemed to be accepting it.

"What is his name?"

"John Henry Roberto, after his father and his maternal grandfather."

"I like that. How about his last name?"

"That's up to you isn't it Doc?"

When we left the hospital several days later it was with John Henry Roberto Holliday safely buckled in his carrier. I drove because his father sat in the back seat with him and talked softly to him all the way back to Purgatory.

I knew that living here is a risk. But so is living any where. Here there are demon Revenants but the world contains humans as dangerous and evil as any demon ever spawned. Here my son has one of the deadliest gunfighters in history to protect him. And I couldn't take Doc's other child away from him after he and Wynonna gave up Alice Michelle. So we moved back into the apartment above Shorty's. I still work at the lab although most everything has been moved over to the former Black Badge office. Jeremy and I continue to make Dolls' serum more effective and longer lasting. We have also developed some dandy explosive and chemical weapons to use in the battle against the Revenants and Clootie.

My relationship with every one in the group is strange but it works. Doc lives with John Henry Roberto and me but he spends time, including some late evenings, with Wynonna as well. Honestly I never thought I would have him all to myself anyway. And they share a child as well. I accept what I get. And he promised again to protect me. That the protection includes John Henry Junior (as we call him sometimes) goes without saying.

Waverly and I buried the hacket, agreeing that each having knocked the other silly balances out. Nicole goes along although I think at times she'd still like to have a little payback. But we're friends. Dolls and Jeremy are still as they always were.

And Wynonna? We're never going to be best buds but we get along. Her having shot me took a lot of the perfectly justifiable anger away that she had for me. In some ways I know my life makes her sad. Why should I get to keep my child when she couldn't keep hers? I know it hurts. I'm a mother too after all. So she concentrates on the battles ahead of us so one day the curse will be ended and perhaps she can be reunited with her daughter.

Oh and I don't bartend any more. Doc got someone else to do it. He said it wasn't fitting for me to do it. There are times I think Wynonna was right. He does love me. I know I love him. That's enough.

(The End) 


End file.
